Convenience rack storable as a decorative hanging



Dec. 24, 1968 s. G. BARKER 7,875

CONVENIENCE RACK STORABLE AS A DECORATIVE HANGING Filed Feb. 14, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 24, 1968 s. e. BARKER 3,

CONVENIENCE RACK STORABLE AS A DECORATIVE HANGING Filed Feb. 14, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet 2 JMA/Li) 6. JAIL/2,

United States Patent 3,417,875 CON"ENIENCE RACK STORABLE AS A DECORATIVEHANGING Stanley G. Barker, 607 Madison St., Joliet, Ill. 60435 FiledFeb. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 615,947 9 Claims. (Cl. 211-126) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A convenience rack which includes a tray and support memberswhich laterally extend from opposite sides of the tray. The tray andsupport members are each formed and related to the other so that therack may be bridged between the opposed sidewalls of a bathtub or thelike in which position the tray provides a horizontal portion which maybe 'used as a rest for whatever comfort items the user wishes to have athand and an inclined portion which may be used as a reading materialsupport, and so that the rack may be stored as a decorative hanging froma generally horizontal support in which case the tray provides ageometrically pleasing face which is symmetrical about the verticalplane passing through the support. Additionally, the surface of the trayis perforated to provide drainage therefrom thus adapting the rack foruse as a drying support.

This invention relates to a convenience rack and, in particular, to arack which may be used as a rest for reading material and comfort items,as a drying tray, and as a decorative hanging.

The rack is disclosed in a typical environment as a bathing accessoryand decorative addition to the bathtub alcove, but as the descriptionproceeds it will become apparent that its use is not limited to thatenvironment. To the contrary, the rack may be bridged across any ofvarious furnishings such as hospital beds, arm chairs and the likecharacterized by opposed sidewalls with generally horizontal, co-planarupper surfaces. Likewise, the rack may be hung as a decorative itemwherever desired.

Many readers use a book rest so that they may have their hands free andavoid the discomfort and fatigue resulting from holding reading materialfor a prolonged period. Furthermore, reading is often done in anenvironment where no convenient rest for comfort items such asrefreshments, cigarettes and other personal articles is to be found.Persons who enjoy reading as they relax in a bath are striking examplesof those who find a convenience rack such as provided by the instantinvention to increase their comfort for the rack does away with thedifficulty otherwise experienced in keeping the reading material drywhile positioned in the proper reading position. Likewise, the bathtubis typical of those environments without a readily accessible rest forcomfort items.

Consequently, various convenience racks have been suggested in the past.However, these racks have suffered to varying degrees from a number offaults as unnecessarily complex construction leading to highmanufacturing costs and lack of durability, specialized use, andunsightly appearance requiring the use of valuable closet or cabinetspace for storage.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a conveniencerack which may be stored as a decorative hanging.

Another object is to provide a durable, inexpensive, convenience rackwhich is suitable for concurrent use as a rest for reading material andcomfort items, for alternative use as a drying rack, and for storage asa decorative hanging.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description and upon reference to thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the convenience rack bridgedacross a bathtub;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation showing the lateral extension of the supportmembers;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the rack illustrating the perforations whichprovide drainage from the upper surface of the tray, and the crestedcontour of the support members, and is partly in section to show theconstruction of the mounting blocks which permit adjustment of thelateral extension of the support members;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the rack as bridged across a bathtub andillustrates a suitable relationship between the shape of the tray andthe form of one of the support members;

FIG. 5 is a section taken along the line 55 of FIG. 3 to show thesymmetry of the tray and frame;

FIG. 5A is a fragment of a section generally the same as FIG. 5 to showthe construction of an alternative mounting block;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the rack hung from a showerhead as a decorativeaddition to the bathtub alcove; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective of an arrangement where the corresponding endsections of the respective support members are gripped againstseparation by spring clamps.

While the invention will be described in connection with a particularembodiment, it will be understood that the intent is not to limit it tothat embodiment. On the contrary, the intent is to cover allalternatives, equivalents and modifications as may be included withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference designations refer tolike parts, and, particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 5, it can be seen that theconvenience rack of the present invention includes a fixed, V-shapedtray 11 recessed within a bordering frame 12 from the opposed sides ofwhich support members 13 and 14 laterally extend. Due to the recess, theupper edges of the frame act as retainers to prevent articles fromaccidentally slipping or rolling 01f the tray.

Additionally, frame 12 serves to enhance the appearance of the rack as adecorative hanging such as shown in FIG. 6. To this end, the lower edgesof frame 12 lie in a plane which is perpendicular to the plane ofsymmetry of tray 11, this plane of symmetry being the plane whichbisects the angle between arms 15 and 16, which are formed by the traysV-shape. Thus, the lower edges of frame 12 form a backing when the rackis hung over showerhead 18 which serves as a generally horizontalsupport. The symmetry of the face presented when the rack is stored as ahanging (i.e., the upper surface of tray 11) is preserved by the upperedges of frame 12 which conform to the shape of tray 11. This face mayadvantageously be embellished with a suitable colorful design (notshown).

Tray 11 and frame 12, which may be either .of single or multiple piececonstruction are preferably formed of plastic. Vacuum forming andinjection molding techniques are particularly suitable. Of course itshould be understood that other materials such as fiberboard, metal andwood may be used if properly treated to prevent moisture damage.

Support members 13 and 14 serve the dual function of providing a meansby which the convenience rack may be bridged between the sidewalls of abathtub or similarly characterized furnishing and a means by which therack may be suspended as a decorative hanging. Since these members arepreferably identically shaped (although oppositely formed) to reducemanufacturing costs, only support member 13 will be described in detail,it being understood that the description applies equally well to supportmember 14, and that support members 13 and 14 cooperate to bridge tray11 between the opposed sidewalls 19 and 20 of a bathtub or otherfurnishing similarly characterized by opposed upstanding sidewalls withgenerally co-planar, horizontal upper surfaces.

A typical support member adapted to the aforementioned dual function isshown by support member 13 to include end sections 22 and 23 whichlaterally extend away from tray 11, support fingers 24 and 25 whichlaterally extend from bases 26 and 27, respectively, to tips 28 and 29,respectively, and an intermediate section 31.

Of primary importance to the use of the rack as a decorative hanging, isthat it presents a geometrically pleasing appearance when suspended asshown in FIG. 6. To this end, intermediate section 31 lies in a planewhich passes approximately through the center of gravity of the racksubstantially perpendicular to the plane of symmetry of the rack. Forthe same reason, end sections 22 and 23 are approximately equally spacedon opposite sides of a center line which passes approximately throughthe center of gravity of the rack parallel to the nadir between arms 15and 16, and define a plane which intersects the aforementioned plane ofintermediate section 31 approximately along this center line (FIG. 1).Consequently, when the rack is hung over showerhead 18 as shown in FIG.6 in such a manner that the previously defined center line passesapproximately through showerhead 18, the relationship of intermediatesection 31 to tray 11 insures that the nadir between arms 15 and 16 willbe substantially vertically oriented while the relationship of endsections 22 and '23 to intermediate section 31 and tray 11 insures thattray 11 will be positioned so that arms 15 and 16 make substantiallyequal acute angles with wall 17 and so that the backing provided by thelower edges of frame 12 is substantially parallel to wall '17.

On the other hand, when the rack is bridged between opposed sidewalls 19and 20, it is desired that one portion of tray 11 provide a horizontalcomfort item rest and that another portion thereof provide an inclinedreading material support. To this end, support fingers 24 and 25 definea plane which is substantially parallel to arm 15. Consequently, whentray 11 is bridged between sidewalls 19 and 20 by resting supportfingers 24 and 25 on the upper surface of sidewall 19 and the similarsupport fingers of support member 14 on the upper surface of sidewall 20(FIG. 1), the forward tray portion formed by arm 15 is horizontal whilethe rearward tray portion formed by arm 16 is inclined. The inclinationof the rearward tray portion 16 is such as to hold reading material in acomfortable reading position which, for most people, is believed to beat an angle of between approximately 20 and 60 degrees requiring anangle between the forward and rearward tray portions '15 and 16 ofbetween approximately 160 and 120 degrees.

In order to provide the rack with the flexibility necessary to permitits use with furnishings having differently spaced sidewalls 19 and 20,the lateral extension of support members 13 and 14 from tray -11 isadjustable. Thus, referring to FIGS, 3 and and support member 13, thelaterally extending end sections 22 and 23 are frictionally grippedwithin mounting blocks 32 and 33,

respectively, which are fixed to frame 12 below the surface of tray 11.The mounting blocks may either be apertured cubes as shown at 32 and 33in FIG. 5 or snap in type clamps as shown at 32A in FIG. 5A. Each ofthese forms has particular advantages and disadvantages. Thus, on theone hand, a greater variety of materials can be used in forming thecubical block since the material need not be elastic as is required forthe clamp type block. On the other hand, the support member end sectioncan be quickly pressed into the clamp type block while it must bethreaded through the apertured type. In order to provide sufiicientrigidity between the support members and the remainder of the rack, thesupport member end sections are each fixed against deflection toward oraway from the rack at a pair of spaced points, one being the associatedmounting block and the other being the aperture in the frame 12 throughwhich the end section passes (FIG. 3).

To aid in maintaining the rack bridged between the opposed sidewalls 19and 20 of a bathtub or similarly characterized furnishing as shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, and to facilitate storage of the rack as a decorativehanging as illustrated by FIG. 6, the intermediate sections of supportmembers 13 and 14 have crested contours. For example, intermediatesection 31 of support member 13 flares out to a crest 34 which islaterally directed away from tray v11 along the center line passingthrough the center of gravity of the rack parallel to the nadir betweenarms 15 and 16 (FIG. 4). Thus, when the rack is bridged betweensidewalls 19 and 20 with the lateral extension of support members 13 and14 properly adjusted to the distance between the sidewalls, crest 34 andthe corresponding crest on support member 14 are in frictional contactwith the inside surfaces of sidewalls 19 and 20, respectively. Thewedging action thus obtained aids in maintaining the rack positioned bypreventing the accidental jarring the rack suffers during ordinary usefrom dislodging it. Further, when the rack is hung for storage, crest 34tends to center support member 13 over showerhead 18 so that thegravitational line of action passes through the showerhead in which casethe rack will hang straight in the manner required of a decorativehanging.

Support members 13 and 14 can be conveniently formed from respectivecontinuous lengths of wire bent to form the afore-described intermediatesection 31, end sections 22 and 23, support fingers 24 and 25, and therequired transitions between these various portions. The wire ispreferably coated with a plastic or other nonabrading, non-stainingmaterial to protect the furnishing with which the rack is used.

It should be noted that the utility of the rack may be increased byproviding tray 11 with a plurality of perforations 35 to providedrainage from the upper surface of tray 11. With such perforations, therack may be conveniently used as a drying rack typically for items suchas hand laundry. Perforations 35 may be spaced in most any patterndesired. For instance, they may be placed at regular intervals in apegboard type fashion, or they may be arranged in a more ornate designsuch as in a spiral.

In order to expedite manufacture of the convenience rack, thecorresponding end sections of the support members 13 and 14 may be heldin over and under relationship by respective spring clamps 41 and 42 asshown in FIG. 7. This arrangement is particularly suited for use inconjunction with snap-in type mounting blocks for the tray, frame andmounting block sub-assembly may be rapidly joined to the supportsub-assembly by simply pressing the support member end sections into themounting blocks. The spring clamps 41 and 42 prevent the support membersfrom separating longitudinally with respect to the tray during thisjoining process. Additionally, the spring clamps act with the mountingblocks to establish a pair of spaced points at which the support membersare rigidly held against deflection toward or away from the tray.Therefore unlike the situation shown in FIG. 3 it is not necessary oreven desirable that support members 13 and 14 pass through apertures inthe frame 12. Accordingly, the support members are free from any Warpageeffect that may be contributed by the frame.

From the foregoing, it should now be clear that a durable, easy tomanufacture convenience rack has been provided, and that the conveniencerack is suitable for a wide variety of uses while providing no storageproblem.

As a matter of definition, when reference is made herein to a planepassing through or including a three dimensional object, it is therebymeant that the plane passes through or includes the longitudinal axis ofthe object unless the context otherwise required. Additionally, itshould be understood that manufacturing tolerances may lead to someunavoidable deviation from the precise geometrical relationshipsdescribed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A convenience rack suitable for use with a furnishing characterizedby opposed upstanding sidewalls with respective generally horizontal,co-planar upper surfaces and for storage as a decorative hanging from agenerally horizontal support, said rack comprising a tray of fixed,V-shaped longitudinal cross-section, a pair of support members laterallyextending from opposite sides of said tray to provide means by whichsaid tray may be bridged between said sidewalls with one arm defined bysaid V- shape in a substantially horizontal plane and the other armdefined thereby in an inclined plane, and mounting means securing saidsupport members to said tray, at least one of said support membersadditionally providing means by which said rack may be suspended fromsaid horizontal support with the line of action of the gravitationalforce acting upon the rack when so suspended passing through saidhorizontal support.

2. The convenience rack of claim 1 wherein the lateral extension of saidsupport members is adjustable whereby said tray may be used with avariety of furnishings having differing distances between their opposedsidewalls.

3. The convenience rack of claim 1 wherein said means for bridging saidtray between said sidewalls includes, for each support member, at leasttwo laterally extending support fingers joined at their bases by anintermediate section having a laterally directed crest, the fingers ofsaid support members defining a plane which is parallel to said one armof the tray and below which said crests lie, said crests being spacedapart by a distance slightly greater than the distance between saidsidewalls whereby .a frictional contact exists between the crests and arespective one of said sidewalls when said tray is bridged between saidsidewalls by resting the support fingers of each of said support memberson a respective one of said sidewall upper surfaces whereby dislodgmentof said tray from between said sidewalls by accidental jarringincidental to normal use is prevented.

4. The convenience rack of claim 3 wherein the lateral extension of saidsupport members is adjustable whereby said tray may be used with avariety of furnishings having differing distances between their opposedsidewalls.

5. The convenience rack of claim 3 wherein the lateral extension of saidsupport members is adjustable whereby said tray may be used with avariety of furnishings having difiering distances between their opposedsidewalls, and wherein said tray has a plurality of perforationstherethrough to provide drainage therefrom.

6. The convenience rack of claim 1 wherein the means provided by whichsaid rack may be hung from said horizontal support as a decorativehanging comprise, for at least one of said support members, a pair ofend sections extending laterally from said tray joined by meansincluding an intermediate section lying in a plane passing approximatelythrough the center of gravity of said rack substantially perpendicularto a second plane which bisects the angle between the arms of said tray,said intermediate section having a crested contour with the crestextending laterally away from the tray along a line which passesapproximately through said center of gravity parallel to the nadir ofthe V-shape of the tray, and said end sections being approximatelyequally spaced from said line on opposite sides thereof and defining aplane which intersects said perpendicular plane substantially along saidline whereby, when said rack is suspended from said horizontal support,the crested contour of said intermediate section tends to center saidrack in a decorative fashion with said nadir vertically oriented.

7. The convenience rack of claim 6 wherein the arms of said tray are ofequal longitudinal length whereby said tray is symmetrical about saidbisecting plane, and wherein said tray is recessed within a borderingframe the upper edges of which conform to the V-shape of the tray tomaintain the symmetrical appearance of the upper surface of said trayand the lower edges of which define a plane parallel to saidperpendicular plane to thereby provide a backing with a planarappearance when said rack is suspended from said horizontal support as adecorative hanging.

'8. The convenience rack of claim 1 wherein the means provided by saidsupport members by which said tray may be bridged between said opposedsidewalls and suspended from said horizontal support comprises, for eachof said support members, a pair of end sections each laterally extendingaway from said rack, a pair of support fingers each laterally extendingaway from said rack from a base to a tip, an intermediate section, andtransitional means joining the base of each of said support fingers to arespective one of said end sections and interconnecting the bases ofsaid support fingers through said intermediate section, saidintermediate section lying in a plane passing approximately through thecenter of gravity of said rack substantially perpendicular to a planebisecting the angle between the arms of the tray and having a crestedcontour (with the crest directed away from the rack along a line passingapproximately through said center of gravity parallel to the nadir ofthe V-shaped of the tray, said end sections being approximately equallyspaced from said line on opposite sides thereof and defining a planeintersecting said perpendicular plane substantially along said line sothat, when said rack is suspended by one of said support members fromsaid horizontal support, the crested contour of the intermediate sectionof the support tends to center the rack with said nadir verticallyoriented while the end sections maintain the tray positioned so that thearms thereof form substantially equal acute angles with saidperpendicular plane whereby the suspended rack presents a geometricallypleasing appearance, said support fingers defining a plane substantiallyparallel to said one arm and the lateral extension of the end sectionsof at least one of said support members being adjustable so that thelateral distance between the crests of the intermediate sections of therespective support members may be adjusted whereby, when said rack isbridged between said sidewalls by resting the support fingers of each ofsaid support members on the upper surface of a respective one of saidsidewalls, said crests make frictional contact with the inner surfacesof the respective sidewalls to thereby prevent dislodgment of said trayfrom between said sidewalls by accidental jarring incidental to normaluse.

9. The convenience rack of claim 8 wherein the arms of said tray are ofequal longitudinal length whereby said tray is symmetrical about saidbisecting plane, wherein said tray has a plurality of perforationstherethrough to thereby provide drainage therefrom, and wherein saidtray is recessed within .a bordering frame the upper edges of whichconform to the V-shape of said tray and the lower edges of which definea plane parallel to said perpendicular plane whereby the upper edges ofsaid frame and the upper surface of said tray combine to present a facewhich is symmetrical about said bisecting plane while the 7 8 loweredges of said frame providing a planar backing per- 1,732,520 10/1929Leatherman 5118 XR pendicular to said bisecting plane. 3,164,254 1/1965Gorc 21142 3,346,125 10/1967 Miller et a1 211-126 References Cited CCELL HA IS UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 HAN OR E. R Przmary Examiner.1,555,038 9/1925 Thweatt 5118 XR 1,717,772 6/1929 Greenwald 21186211-135, 175; 248-94

